John Markum

Blessing Blockers

Last night I preached a message called “Blessing Blockers” as part of our last week in a series called The Blessed Life. We looked at five things that get in the way of us experiencing the powerful, grace-filled life that God wants each of us to experience. I thought I would share them with you as succinctly as possible:

  1. Faithlessness: “I have difficulty trusting God.” Hebrews 11:6, “For without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” God’s greatest desire is His glory, and my good. So I can trust Him.
  2. Inconsistent Walk: “I can’t seem to stay on track spiritually.” Rev. 3:16, “Because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out!” God loves me more than the awkwardness between us. So I can always come back to Him.
  3. Fear: “I am afraid of the possible outcomes of following God.” 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of love, courage, and of a sound mind.” There is no situation which God is not “God” over. So I don’t need to fear.
  4. Unconfessed Sin: “I hold onto a sin while trying to move forward.” Psalm 66:18, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” Jesus died to take away my sin. So I don’t need to carry it anymore.
  5. Feeling unworthy: “I don’t think I’m good enough for God to bless me.” 1 Corinthians 1:30, “God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.” I am not worthy on my own. So God made me worthy through Christ.

Blessings,

John

“johnmarkum.com” turns ONE!

I can’t believe I’ve been blogging now for a whole year! And I can’t believe you’re still reading!?!?

I started this blog as a means to express my thoughts and to better share my life, family, and ministry with the many people out there who call us “friend” and “family.” Along the way, many more have joined in following everything I’ve had to share from simple thoughts to spiritual insights.

In one year’s time this blog has had over 7,100 hits, averaging over 500 hits per month! I can’t express enough to you how much it means to me to receive the kind of support I’ve gotten from so many of you. People from my church family, community, college and high school, family members nationwide, and brothers and sisters in ministry around the world, thank you – not only for visiting my blog and reading some posts, but for taking interest in my life.

Thank you for the encouraging words. This blog is for you! And I look forward to continuing to share with you for many more years to come.

Blessings,

John

“I AM SIN” Series

What if the things that get us tangled up were more obvious? If we could see sin for what it really is, we might be surprised at how devastating, and how beatable, it really is. Join us at Edgewood on Saturday nights, 5pm, for a series on temptation, sin, guilt, and forgiveness.

We’re very excited to be introducing this sermon series this fall! Knowledge is powerful when applied correctly. So we’re having a frank series that deals with the our sin issues, puts them into the right perspective, and equips people with the right tools to overcome their sin. We wanted to go with a spooky kind of theme for the end of October without it feeling cheesy. Check out this preview video below for a better look at what’s coming.

Blessings,

John

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